Blackstar's Nine Lives
by Caelyx
Summary: You know what Firestar's were, and Tigerstar's. You know Leafstar's, Tallstar's, and Bluestar's. You know what almost every great leader's legacies were, and who gave them. You know every single one of them - all but Blackstar's. Oneshot.


**BLACKSTAR'S NINE LIVES**

Scarlet streaks painted the sky like blood as the sun began to set. Birds began to retreat into their nests, their night songs blending with the croaking of frogs and the chirping of crickets. The wind churned through the tree branches like a river between rocks, twisting and turning and rustling them every which way.

A huge white tom with jet-black paws sat silhouetted against the sunset, his tail wrapped around him. His amber eyes were distant and unfocused as he gazed out at the horizon.

"Blackfoot?"

The tom turned at the sound of his name to a much smaller gray-and-white tom who looked almost nervous at approaching him. He dipped his head respectfully to the medicine cat and meowed in a deep voice, "Runningnose."

"Are you ready?" Runningnose responded, meeting the large tom's steady amber gaze.

For a moment, Blackfoot's eyes clouded before he nodded. "I think so."

"Come to my den," Runningnose meowed. "We'll need traveling herbs to get to Highstones by midnight."

Blackfoot followed the small gray-and-white tom to the medicine den, where Runningnose pointed to a cluster of sorrel, daisy, dock and burnet. "Swallow those," the medicine cat told him. "They'll keep up your strength since we can't eat or drink before going to Highstones."

Bending his head, Blackfoot lapped up the bitter-tasting herbs without complaint. He padded out of the medicine den as his Clanmates gathered in the clearing to say goodbye to him.

"Farewell, old friend," Oakfur meowed.

"See you later, Blackfoot," Boulder meowed.

Tallpoppy nudged the gray tom's shoulder. "You'll be Black_star_ then."

Cedarpaw and Rowanpaw stood off to one side, as if they were too shy to speak. Then Rowanpaw burst out, "You'll be a great leader, Blackfoot!" and looked as if he were in trouble.

"Thank you," Blackfoot meowed, amused, dipping his head.

Littlecloud dipped his head respectfully to the white warrior. That's when Blackstar realized there was one cat who hadn't said goodbye – Russetfur.

Russetfur was Blackfoot's closest and oldest friend, and his most trusted warrior. The ginger she-cat was lingering behind the rest of the crowd, but her eyes were fixed on him.

"Russetfur?" Blackfoot asked, picking his way through the crowd to her.

"Congratulations, Blackfoot," Russetfur meowed, and stretched forward to touch her nose to his. When she noticed his uncomfortable look, she pulled back and tilted her head. "What?"

"Stonefur," Blackfoot replied, his voice barely audible.

Russetfur's eyes darkened at the mention of the blue-gray tom. She too knew that Blackfoot was Stonefur's killer, too. "StarClan will forgive you, Blackfoot," she meowed, pressing her pelt reassuringly against his. "Watch."

"Thanks, Russetfur," Blackfoot meowed, and rasped his tongue over his friend's ear. "I wanted to ask you something."

The ginger she-cat pricked her ears curiously, waiting for him to go on.

"Will you serve as my deputy?" Blackfoot wondered.

Russetfur's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"I…I…" Russetfur cleared her throat. "Of course I'll be deputy, you stupid furball."

Blackfoot purred in amusement. He glanced over his shoulder to see Runningnose waiting for him. "I'd better go," he meowed, his doubts returning. "Thank you for your support."

The journey to Highstones was a quick one – it always was for ShadowClan cats. Blackfoot and Runningnose crossed the Thunderpath with ease, and the traveling herbs kept their hunger at bay. By the time Blackfoot and Runningnose padded down the long tunnel of Mothermouth, the light from the moon hit the great stone and illuminated the whole cavern.

"Touch your nose to the Moonstone," Runningnose whispered, pressing against Blackfoot as if to make sure he was still there. "StarClan will come to you soon."

"What if they don't?" Blackfoot asked nervously, shaking in the presence of StarClan.

"They will," Runningnose promised in a hushed mew. He butted Blackfoot's flank with his head. "Now go on."

Blackfoot obeyed, crouching beside the Moonstone. He pressed his nose to the cold stone and felt himself sinking into a deep sleep. He found himself at Fourtrees, staring up at the four great oaks in the center of the clearing. It was nighttime here, and it was as peaceful as he had always imagined it would be.

It wasn't raining, but mist formed a large ring around the hollow, blotting out whatever might be coming. Blackfoot squinted into the fog, aware that something was coming. _But what?_

_ It took his breath away._

Cats were coming. They flocked from all sides, their pawsteps silent on the dewy ground. Each and every one of them was achingly familiar. Blackfoot could name almost all of them. They were all cats he had known, cats he had lost.

"Welcome, Blackfoot," the cats meowed. He could hear each individual tone, but they formed a single voice. Some were low enough to rumble the ground, some were the sweet tones of she-cats, and a few were kits' squeaks. The sound of their voice warmed his heart. "Are you ready to receive your nine lives?"

Blackfoot's voice caught in his throat. He forced himself to speak. "Yes. I-I – I'm ready."

A dark gray-and-white she-cat stepped forward, green eyes reflecting starlight.

"Hollyflower," Blackfoot breathed. He hadn't seen his mother since the day she died, killed from a brave fox that had wandered into camp. She had saved a nursery full of kits, though.

"I'm so proud of you," Hollyflower meowed. She stretched forward and rested her muzzle between his ears. "With this life, I give you determination. Use it well when your Clanmates doubt."

Blackfoot staggered backwards as a crackle of lightning seemed to completely engulf him. His mind whirled with images of a frightened Clan. Wailing cats. Lost cats. They didn't know what to do, and Blackfoot felt a surge in his chest. It was his duty to help them.

The lightning-feeling faded and so did the images, leaving Blackfoot crouched on the ground in front of his mother, muscles tensed so tight, they felt as if they might snap if he moved in the wrong direction.

When he looked up, Hollyflower's tail was disappearing into the sparkling line of cats, and a gray tom had replaced her. Blackfoot's eyes sparked. "Flintfang?"

"Hello, brother," Flintfang responded. He reached forward and touched his muzzle to Blackfoot's head. "With this life, I give you honor. Respect the warrior code and your Clanmates, and they will respect you in return."

Blackfoot watched in horror as a terrible scene unfolded before him. It was a battle, but it wasn't warriors fighting. They were _kits_. Some weren't even old enough to be away from their mothers. They were fighting full-grown warriors and tearing into each other as viciously as rogues. He felt a touch on his shoulder and looked up at Flintfang, who murmured, "Do not follow in recent ShadowClan leaders' pawsteps."

Panting heavily, Blackfoot realized he had sunk to his knees while watching the kit warriors fight. Pain faded from his body as he rose, and he realized he had completely ignored the burst of lightning in his veins when he had been given the life.

Fernshade padded forward next. She was Blackfoot's sister, but she didn't speak, except to give him his life. She pressed her muzzle to his forehead and meowed, "With this life, I give you wisdom. Remember to reach for it in unexpected places. You never know who may have it."

White-hot fire burst behind Blackfoot's eyes, in the place where she had touched him. It seemed like knowledge was flowing into him. He could see himself talking to cats – cats with graying muzzles and ragged frames. _She means the elders, _he realized.

After Fernshade came a tiny black-and-white kit. Blackfoot recognized him as his sister's kit, Badgerpaw. He was one of the kits who had lived during Brokenstar's reign. He also remembered Flintfang had mentored him.

"Badgerfang," he meowed, bowing his head to touch noses with the kit.

The kit's eyes brightened at the sound of his warrior name. He stretched up on his hind legs to rest his muzzle on Blackfoot's head. "With this life, I give you mentoring," he squeaked. "Use it well when training your young cats. They are the future of ShadowClan, and without them, the Clans would be lost."

Blackfoot didn't feel much pain this time. He could feel himself running, his paws drumming on the forest floor below him. He knew he was little, like a young apprentice, and as he ran, he grew larger and larger until he felt someone brush against him. It was a faceless, apprentice-sized cat. Others flocked after him as the first apprentice grew up.

"I will," Blackfoot meowed, and watched Badgerfang scamper back into the crowd of StarClan cats.

The next cat that padded forward was a sturdy brown-and-white she-cat. Blackfoot didn't know her, but she stopped in front of him and dipped her head in a sign of respect. "My name is Brightwhisker. I was a deputy that never became leader in the old forest, because I died of greencough too early," she meowed.

_That would be heartbreaking,_ Blackfoot thought. _To spend all of that time working your way up and never being able to fulfill your ambitions._

"I know what it's like to wait," Brightwhisker told him. "And sometimes things don't always happen. But have patience. Good things come to those who wait." She stretched forward and touched her nose to his head. "With this life I give you energy. Use it well when waiting out the hard times in your Clan."

Blackfoot didn't feel the usual fire, just the sparks. Energy crackled and fizzed into his paws. He felt as if he could run laps around the lake and never become tired. He rose to meet the last four cats with a new vivacity. He could feel the same buoyancy he had when he was a kit waiting for his apprentice ceremony.

The next cat was hardly recognizable, looking much healthier in death than he had in life, when Blackfoot had known him. Nightstar's black pelt had a healthy gleam that reflected stars, and he had filled out well. Even his green eyes were different, proud and content, not dull and weary.

"With this life, I give you initiative," Nightstar meowed. "Use it well when guiding your Clan to new places. Think about the good of the Clan."

Blackfoot nodded respectfully to Nightstar. "Thank you. It's good to see you again."

Nightstar returned his nod, and the look in his eyes reminded Blackfoot of a father looking at his kits.

The next cat was Raggedstar. Blackfoot had never met him, but he now understood why he was named _Ragged_star. His pelt shone with stars, but it was spiky and kinked up at all angles. He narrowed his eyes as the tabby tom stepped closer. "You're Brokenstar's father." He just managed not to spit the words out. "Why are you in StarClan?"

Raggedstar met his gaze expressionlessly. "You blame me for my son's actions?"

"No, I hold you responsible for your own actions," Blackfoot hissed through gritted teeth. "Your mate was a medicine cat, and your son was a monster because of it. Do you know how many cats he killed?"

"I didn't keep track the whole time, but I was on the list," Raggedstar meowed, and Blackfoot was taken aback. "Sometimes you find love in unexpected places. And sometimes you suffer for it." He stared hard at Blackfoot. "I hope you will not make the same mistake I did. With this life, I give you loyalty." He touched his muzzle to Blackfoot's forehead. "Use it well to lead your Clan through trying times. Sometimes loyalty is the hardest thing to have, whether it's to the warrior code, or your Clan, or even StarClan."

_It won't be for me, _Blackfoot thought, but it didn't stop the images of a scattered Clan and a mottled tortoiseshell tom looking smugly down from – was that the Talltree? No, it couldn't be. ShadowClan's trees weren't like that. _Sol_, whispered a voice in his mind, but Blackfoot shook his head. He couldn't know that word. He'd never heard it before.

The next cat that trotted forward to meet him had stars in his fur, but he also wore a collar around his neck.

"You – You're a kittypet!" Blackfoot exclaimed, leaping back as if the kittypet were poisonous.

"Aye, that's right," the kittypet meowed, giving a quick nod of his head. "But I believe in StarClan, and that is where I ended up. My name is Hal."

Blackfoot narrowed his eyes. He still didn't know the cat. But he looked so familiar, dark brown with broad shoulders and amber eyes. "You…you look just like Brokenstar."

"And Raggedstar," Hal added. "I fathered him, as well as your deputy, Russetfur."

Blackfoot's eyes widened.

"I suggest you take good care of her, lad," Hal meowed. "I'll be watching." He touched his nose to Blackfoot's head. "With this life, I give you compassion. Don't take this life for granted – compassion doesn't always mean weakness. Sometimes it means showing kindness in the most unexpected places."

Then he was gone.

Blackfoot shook his head. What was _with _these StarClan cats? They normally spoke in riddles when they delivered prophecies, but what they all hinted at was that he was going to go through some hard time with his Clan. He could see himself growing older as each life came and went by.

But there was one more left, he remembered. He looked around, but a ninth cat did not come forward to claim the position of giving him his last life. A wave of worry washed over Blackfoot. Who else had he lost in his life to give him his last? Did they accept him?

"Behind you, Blackfoot."

It had been chilly the whole time Blackfoot had been receiving his lives, but his blood turned to ice, freezing in his veins as he heard the voice. Slowly, even reluctantly, he turned to face the one cat he hadn't expected to be here.

"Stonefur?"

The blue-gray tom met his gaze evenly. Blackfoot half expected the former RiverClan deputy to hurl himself at him and tear him limb from limb. He wasn't sure he could kill Stonefur again. But there was not even a trace of anger in Stonefur's eyes.

"_You're _going to give me my last life?" Blackfoot asked, still shocked.

Stonefur nodded, his blue eyes unchanging. "I've forgiven you," he told him, taking a few paces forward. "But that doesn't mean I've forgotten. You killed me to prove your worth to _that cat_. I can't tell you how long I sulked here in StarClan, seething the whole time and waiting for a chance to get back at you, for ripping my own life away so you could live yours."

Waves of guilt that he hadn't felt before flooded over Blackfoot, making his ears feel hot. He wondered if he was red underneath his fur. Surely Stonefur could see it through his ivory pelt?

"I had just as much ambition as you, Blackfoot," Stonefur meowed. "But I've been here long enough to think – what's done is done. All I can do is forgive. And now I want to teach you to do the same. It really makes you a better cat, in the end."

Blackfoot swallowed hard.

"With this life, I give you mercy. Like compassion, showing it is not a weakness. Instead, it will aid you in the end." Stonefur looked into his killer's eyes. "Victory can leave both cats standing. Your opponent may be a lesser cat in the battle, but he deserves as much as you to live and have a chance to try again."

A hush had fallen over the other cats.

"Victory isn't everything. Sometimes peace brings greater rewards. Remember that," Stonefur meowed. His stoic gaze met Blackfoot's and he meowed, louder, so all the cats could hear clearly, "I hail you by your new name, Blackstar, and I wish you well as you lead your Clan to places ShadowClan might never have been before!"

"Welcome, Blackstar!"

"Blackstar!"

"Blackstar!"

Blackstar allowed himself to feel the warmth of the StarClan cats around him as they welcomed him into leadership, chanting his name. But Stonefur's words would burn in his mind forevermore. _Victory isn't everything…_

The feeling of fur and the warmth of bodies and the chanting of voices slowly faded with his vision until he was sitting in complete blackness. He was aware he was back at the Moonstone, and rose to his paws.

"Ready to greet your Clan, Blackstar?" Runningnose asked.

_I hope so, _Blackstar thought, but it would probably sound better if he sounded sure of himself. "Yes."

"Let's go, then," Runningnose meowed, and led him out into the tunnel and out into the dawn, back to ShadowClan.

And as Blackstar padded into camp with his medicine cat at his side, with his Clanmates rushing forward to greet him, with the morning light spilling over the clouds in golden glory, with the StarClan cats' words ringing in his ears, he thought, _I will serve my Clan with all nine lives and until my last breath. I will honor each cat and the warrior code and StarClan, too._

"Blackstar!" the warriors chanted, as they formed a ragged band around him. Russetfur was one of the first to reach him, green eyes shining.

_This is truly my dawn._

_**A/N: Wow. Okay, well where do we start? Heh. I started this back in July – on the 7**__**th**__**, to be exact, a little after I started Black on Red. I know this is a little out of personality for Blackstar, but this is what I imagine Blackstar inside his Clan. You know how he seemed all business to ShadowClan, but I think the ShadowClan cats' "GRRRR" personalities were a little overrated. They have to have some substance in there somewhere. Aaaaaaaanyway, did you like it? This is my first leader ceremony, so I looked up Firestar's and Tigerstar's to see how they were done again, and I looked up attributes on Warriors Wiki for warriors' ceremonies. Also, I don't know if you've read Tigerstar's, but he wasn't given any courage/bravery/strength because StarClan thought he had enough of that himself. That goes for Blackfoot, too. =]**_

_**Oh, by the way – ever since I started writing Black on Red (ADOPTED FROM KATIEK101 BECAUSE SHE'S AWESOME *COUGHCOUGH*) I'm a sucker for BlackXRusset, so there was a little of that in there. 8D And I thought there should be some feedback from Stonefur about what he thought about Blackfoot, his killer, becoming leader. I really liked Stonefur and I think his death was one of the saddest. I might do a one-shot on him…HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEE…ahe…he….O_O I don't know where that came from.**_

_**These were the cats who gave him the lives in a shortened version! When I was about the point where Blackfoot could hear the individual voices I started looking up Warriors' virtues and wrote this down. This was my guide and I didn't want to delete it. Or cut it. So, meh.**_

_**Hollyflower – determination**_

_**Flintfang – honor**_

_**Fernshade – wisdom  
>Badgerfang – mentoring<strong>_

_**Brightwhisker – energy**_

_**Nightstar – initiative**_

_**Raggedstar – loyalty**_

_**Hal – compassion**_

_**Stonefur – mercy**_

_**Hope you liked it! Review what you think about a Stonefur one-shot!**_

_**OH, I ALMOST FORGOT! Jeez, this is a long authors' note. I'm talking to myself. *smacks* Anyway, I've been thinking about all the Dark Forest warriors, and I want to tell their stories. I'm thinking about doing a book of one-shots on them. You know, like Snowtuft and Silverhawk. I'm not sure if I should do Mapleshade because everyone does Mapleshade one-shots and there's a book called Mapleshade's Vengeance coming out by the Erins. Anyway, tell me what you think so I can shut up and you guys can get on with your lives because authors' notes are boring and this is a really long run-on sentence and I know it so I'm just trying to see how long I can make it…**_

_***smacks* Sorry.**_


End file.
